We broke up.

VIENNE'S POV

I stood gripping my bag strap as I watched Amelia flipped her hair at me before lowering herself into the car. Into Ryan's car.

I stood by the school entrance and of course that has given her the leverage of letting me see.

The smugness her face carried was sickening.

But I was hurt.

That used to be me. That was supposed to be me.

I watched Ryan drive off with her in his car without even sparing me a second glance. Right on the spot, I begin to wonder exactly when they both started their escapade. 

Was it before the break or during the break? Who made the first move? Ryan? Amelia?

I bit down hard on my lower lip, aborting the idea of tearing up. Don't be pathetic, Vienne.

It was just a matter of time; it was a matter of patience.

I would make sure to get Ryan back. At the moment I already concluded Amelia must have been the one to play some game on Ryan. She must have schemed something.

‘too much'? Ryan doesn't even have enough reason to break up with me.

I fished out my cellphone as I typed a message to my driver.

‘Don’t come to pick me up, Mr Kent. I'll get home myself soon’_ Vienne 

And almost immediately he got the message

‘Yes, Miss'

I had no ride; I also don't plan on taking one home. Taking a stroll home while enjoying the evening breeze was what I felt like doing, and when I get tired I can order a cab home. The school premises are almost empty anyways; I glanced around before proceeding.

I took my time. Out of the lot, out of the school gate.

And down the street.

By 5:35pm I was not even halfway, but I didn't mind and I was beginning to get a bit tired and thirsty.

With that thought, I looked around in search for a minimart or convenience store. Or someplace to get bottled water. I found one and wasted no time in strutting over. 

I chortled at the high probability of me not getting just water at the end of the day. The place is packed with enticing snacks which would definitely be going home with me later today. I picked water then grabbed a shopping basket filling it with snacks that had managed to catch my eye.

I suddenly paused as I caught the sight of a familiar figure over the racks. Upon double checking, my eyes widened a bit.

“Would you look at that?” 

I raised a brow at the figure of Damon holding a shopping trolley. His athletic figure looks way out of place as he moves around, grocery shopping. He was still spotting the school's slack and a white tee-shirt. With his backpack slung lazily over his shoulder, he effortlessly pushed the trolley as he dropped the groceries into it.

Hot.

Where did that come from??

Well, I would give him that. I'm not blind or stupid, Calloway’s got the looks. At that, an idea popped in my head; without wasting time, my phone's camera was positioned and at work again. I expertly took shots of him. The loser doesn't even need to give me a pose.

Taking the 7th shot, I paused, realizing how I might be seeming like a stalker.

This isn't the first time I'm taking his picture without his knowledge.

Hm.

I grabbed a few more snacks before heading to the counter to clear my purchase.

I finally resigned to ordering a ride home. I'm never doing this again. 

It was a few minutes past six when I walked into our compound. In slight surprise, I raised a brow at my parents SUV sitting at the garage. They were back; it's not like it's their first time getting back from a business trip, I was just surprised they came back this early.

“Why did you have the driver not get you back from school, Vienne Reyes?” My mother's exquisite voice called out to me as I stepped into the house.

“Hello mum. Dad” my tired voice greeted back.

“Let her be, honey,” dad replied, dropping the newspaper on the stool. “She must have had her reasons. You never know, Ryan must have offered to drop her”

And my upper lip twitched.

“Oh. Must have been the case. Didn't think of that” mom laughed before she frowned again. “But that shouldn't have given a reason to get back home late.. look it's just a few minutes to seven.”

“You should be more flexible in your thinking. What if they had gone out on a date? The kids these days go all out”

I let out a big exhale while closing my eyes. They were unintentionally causing a tightening in my chest with their little analysis. 

“Oh! Must have been the issue” Mom's cheery laugher rang through the room once more. “Come, honey.” She held my shoulder. “Did you two have a great time together?”

“Well_”

“I knew all along that Knox kid is just good for you.”

“You're in good hands with him,” Dad added. “I'd be delighted if you two would be together for a longe_”

“We broke up,” I blurted out.

I couldn't take it anymore.

They couldn't even read the room. Watching them ramble on and on about a saddening topic to me was getting me uncomfortable as the time ticked by.

The silence that followed was thick. Deafening. And pregnant.

“W_what?” Mom stuttered out.

“He broke up with me” I let out a humourless laughter at myself. “So yeah, that's it”

With that, I made my way upstairs to my room, along with the bag containing my purchase. I didn't wait to see their reaction, but I was sure it was a shock.

And they definitely have a lot of questions for me.